Kelvin Davies on some of the recently purchased land. Photo supplied
Mullumbimby-based non-profit organisation Rainforest Trust Australia is celebrating its purchase of nine properties in the Daintree lowland rainforest to protect endangered wildlife and wind back the impacts of inappropriate development.
Rainforest Trust Australia’s CEO, Kelvin Davies said the group acquired the properties over 18 months, ‘with one purchase on average every eight weeks.’
‘We were excited to discover camera traps installed on one of the blocks detected three cassowaries, a Bennetts tree-kangaroo, a musky rat-kangaroo and a red legged pademelon,’ Mr Davies.
Rainforest Trust Australia has now offered these properties to the Queensland government for inclusion in the Daintree National Park along with five other blocks acquired in past years.
Winding back development
The properties range in size from 1 to 20 hectares (2.5 to 50 acres), but Mr Davies said ‘the more significant conservation benefit comes from winding back impacts of the 1980s subdivision that carved up two-thirds of the Daintree lowland rainforest into 1,100 rural residential blocks’.
‘The winding back of development in the Daintree occurs in very practical ways. Buying land for conservation stops housing development and in locations where all of the freehold properties have been purchased and we can work with governments to close and revegetate roads,’ he said.
The organisation has purchased has now purchased 43 properties in the area.
MrDaviies said Rainforest Trust Australia had managed to increase its rate of land acquisition in the Daintree through community support inspired in part by its matching gift program.
100% of donations fund purchases
‘A generous friend of Rainforest Trust has offered to match every donation up to $50 million. So, every dollar donated to our projects is doubled,’ he said.
‘We also have all of Rainforest Trust’s overhead or operating costs supported by our board of directors and a few key foundations so 100 per cent of donations are used to support the creation of new protected areas in Australia and at our many project sites across the globe’.
Since 1988, Rainforest Trust and its local conservation partners have strategically purchased and protected 7,324,069 hectares (18,098,170 acres) and created over 193 new Protected Areas around the world.
To support Rainforest Trust Australia call Kelvin Davies on 0437 423 119 or visit www.RainforestTrust.org
Become a supporter of The Echo
Maybe fly-in fly-out tours to other places are on the increase when Mullumbimby needs protecting.
Byron does. Brunswick Heads does. Tweed Does. Lismore does.
Great to read of your successful conservation efforts. The planet sure needs help to maintain habitat for all.